Mülheim

Mülheim, officially Mülheim an der Ruhr (German pronunciation: [ˈmyːlhaɪm ʔan deːɐ̯ ˈʁuːɐ̯] ^ⓘ, lit. 'Mülheim on the Ruhr'; Low German: Mölm; Kölsch: Müllem) and also described as "City on the River", is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia in western Germany. It is located in the Ruhr Area between Duisburg, Essen, Oberhausen and Ratingen. It is home to many companies, and two Max Planck Institutes.

Key Information

Mülheim an der Ruhr
City
View of the city centre
Flag Coat of arms
Location of Mülheim an der Ruhr within North Rhine-Westphalia
Mülheim an der Ruhr Show map of Germany Mülheim an der Ruhr Show map of North Rhine-Westphalia
Coordinates: 51°25′39″N 06°52′57″E / 51.42750°N 6.88250°E / 51.42750; 6.88250
Country	Germany
State	North Rhine-Westphalia
Admin. region	Düsseldorf
District	Urban district
Subdivisions	3 districts, 9 boroughs
Government
• Lord mayor (2020–25)	Marc Buchholz[1] (CDU)
Area
• Total	91.28 km2 (35.24 sq mi)
Highest elevation	153 m (502 ft)
Lowest elevation	26 m (85 ft)
Population  (2023-12-31)[2]
• Total	172,887
• Density	1,900/km2 (4,900/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal codes	45468–45481
Dialling codes	0208, 02054
Vehicle registration	MH
Website	www.muelheim-ruhr.de
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Mülheim an der Ruhr received its town charter in 1808, and 100 years later the population exceeded 100,000, making Mülheim officially a city. At the time of the city's 200th anniversary with approximately 170,000 residents, it was counted among the smaller cities of Germany.

Mülheim an der Ruhr is located to the southwest of Essen in the Ruhr valley.^[3]

The northern foothills of the Rhenish Massif are characterised by the distinctive rock formation of the bare mountain slopes through which run coal-bearing layers which formed during the carboniferous period. Here the Ruhr cuts more than 50 meters deep into this Mittelgebirge. This natural erosion partly uncovered these mineable black coal deposits, which enabled their exploration and extraction using adits. However, the coal-rich layers became ever deeper as one progressed northward, which required setting up mines to extract the black coal. In contrast, the broad bayou (dead arm of a river) of Styrum borough is characteristic of the features of the Lower Rhine Plain.^[4]

Rank	Nationality	Population (31.12.2022)
1	Turkey	4,807
2	Syria	2,910
3	Serbia	1,594
4	Iraq	1,423
5	Poland	1,357
6	Ukraine	1,306
7	Romania	1,243
8	Italy	1,149
9	China	1,017
10	Kosovo	964

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (April 2025)

Mülheim was chartered in 1808. Between 1878 and 1929, Mülheim absorbed its neighboring towns, including Broich and Heissen.^[5] Later, during World War II, forced laborers of the 3rd SS construction brigade were dispatched in the town by the Nazis in 1943.^[6]

The U18 metro line connects the city with Essen.^[7]

The current mayor of Mülheim is Marc Buchholz of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) since 2020. The most recent mayoral election was held on 13 September 2020, with a runoff held on 27 September, and the results were as follows:

The Mülheim city council governs the city alongside the mayor. The most recent city council election was held on 13 September 2020, and the results were as follows:

Party		Votes	%	+/-	Seats	+/-
	Christian Democratic Union (CDU)	16,970	26.3	0.9	14	1
	Alliance 90/The Greens (Grüne)	15,097	23.4	12.4	13	7
	Social Democratic Party (SPD)	13,765	21.3	10.2	12	5
	Alternative for Germany (AfD)	4,629	7.2	1.9	4	1
	Mülheimer Citizens' Initiative (MBI)	3,043	4.7	5.4	3	2
	Free Democratic Party (FDP)	3,003	4.7	0.7	3	±0
	Die PARTEI (PARTEI)	2,866	4.4	New	2	New
	The Left (Die Linke)	1,751	2.7	1.4	1	1
	We From Mülheim (WIR)	1,560	2.4	1.0	1	±0
	Civic Awakening Mülheim (BAMH)	1,173	1.8	New	1	New
	Alliance for Education (BüfBi)	424	0.7	0.3	0	1
	Independents	226	0.4	–	0	–
Valid votes		64,507	98.3
Invalid votes		1,144	1.7
Total		65,651	100.0		54	±0
Electorate/voter turnout		130,571	50.3	0.0
Source: State Returning Officer

Mülheim is home to two Max Planck Institutes, a university campus, and various other educational and scientific institutions.

• Max Planck Institute for Coal Research
• Max Planck Institute for Chemical Energy Conversion
• Ruhr West University of Applied Sciences, main campus
• IWW Water Centre, water research institute of the University of Duisburg-Essen
• 39 Schools, among them 22 primary schools, 12 general secondary schools, 2 vocational schools, 1 Waldorf school, and 2 special schools

Mülheim an der Ruhr has a longstanding industrial heritage as part of the Ruhrgebiet, historically focused on coal mining, steel, and chemicals. While heavy industry has declined, the city has shifted towards logistics, retail, scientific research, and high-value services.

Mülheim has positioned itself as a logistics and services hub within North Rhine-Westphalia, supported by its proximity to Düsseldorf, Essen, and the Rhine-Ruhr transport network. The local economy includes strong retail and food distribution sectors, along with growing activity in energy and environmental sciences, partly driven by the presence of research institutions such as the Max Planck Institutes and Ruhr West University of Applied Sciences.

• Plus (founded 1972), a supermarket chain
• Aldi Süd (founded 1946, split in two parts in 1960, renamed to Aldi Süd in 1962), a discount supermarket chain
• Harke Group, formerly Syntana (founded 1965), a chemical and plastics distributor
• Europipe GmbH (founded 1991), main manufacturer of seamless pipes for the Nord Stream pipelines
• Siemens Energy (founded 2020), an energy technology company
• Gear4music (founded 1995), a musical instruments retailer

• 1. FC Mülheim (founded 1923), a football club
• VfB Speldorf (founded 1919), a football club
• HTC Uhlenhorst Mülheim (founded 1920), a field hockey club

Mülheim's sister cities are:^[8]

• Wilhelm Rittenhausen (1644–1708), founder of the first paper mill in North America
• Gerhard Tersteegen (1697–1769), Reformed religious writer
• Carl Arnold Kortum (1745–1824), physician, writer and poet
• August Bungert (1845–1915), opera composer and poet
• Wilibald Nagel (1863–1929), musicologist
• Hugo Stinnes (1870–1924), industrialist and founder of the German People's Party
• Fritz Thyssen (1873–1951), industrialist associated with the Nazi Party
• Carl Otto von Eicken (1873–1960), otorhinolaryngologist
• Heinrich Thyssen (1875–1947), German-Hungarian entrepreneur and art collector
• Arthur Kaufmann (1888–1971), painter
• Walter Hartmann (1891–1977), general of artillery in World War II
• Dagmar Mühlenfeld (born 1951), mayor of Mülheim an der Ruhr
• Otto Pankok (1893–1966), painter, printmaker and sculptor
• Otto Roelen (1897–1993), chemist
• Karl Ziegler (1898–1973), chemist, Nobel Prize winner
• Clärenore Stinnes (1901–1990), car racer, the first person to circumnavigate the world by automobile
• Werner Best (1903–1989), jurist, police chief and Nazi leader
• Carl Balhaus (1905–1968), actor and director
• Ferdinand aus der Fünten (1909–1989), SS-Hauptsturmführer, war criminal
• Fritz Buchloh (1909–1998), footballer
• Günther Smend (1912–1944), officer and a resistance fighter involved in the July 20 Plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler
• Johannes Bölter (1915–1987), German Army tank commander during World War II
• Karl Albrecht (1920–2014), entrepreneur, Aldi founder
• Theo Albrecht (1922–2010), entrepreneur, Aldi founder
• Wilhelm Knabe (1923–2021), ecologist, pacifist, civil servant, politician and co-founder of the Green Party in Germany
• Wim Thoelke (1927–1995), TV entertainer
• Hermann Bottenbruch (1928–2019), mathematician and computer scientist
• Jürgen Sundermann (born 1940), football player and manager
• Hans Walitza (born 1945), football player and manager
• Rudolf Seliger (born 1951), footballer
• Bodo Hombach (born 1952), politician (SPD)
• Monika Griefahn (born 1954), politician (SPD)
• Hans-Günter Bruns (born 1954), footballer
• Helge Schneider (born 1955), comedian, musician, author, film and theatre director and actor
• Ralph Morgenstern (born 1956), television presenter and actor
• Albrecht von Croÿ (born 1958), journalist
• Ulla Kock am Brink (born 1961), television presenter
• Hannelore Kraft (born 1961), politician (SPD) and Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia
• Ralf Lübke (born 1965), athlete
• Carolin Emcke (born 1967), journalist
• Willi Landgraf (born 1968), footballer
• Sven Meinhardt (born 1971), field hockey player, Olympic winner
• André Lenz (born 1973), footballer
• Lars Burgsmüller (born 1975), tennis player
• Marion Rodewald (born 1976), field hockey player, Olympic winner
• Kai Gehring (born 1977), politician
• Felix Erdmann (born 1978), rowing cox
• Simone Hanselmann (born 1979), actress
• Salih Altın (born 1987), footballer
• Bobby Gunns (born 1992), professional wrestler
• Jonathan Rommelmann (born 1994), Olympic medalist
• Stephanie Stebich (born 1966), art historian
• Rüdiger Emshoff (born 1960), maxillofacial surgeon and associate professor
• Karl Schmitz-Scholl (1868-1933), businessman

Panorama of Mülheim in 2014

• 
  Courtyard of Schloss Broich
• 
  Town Hall
• 
  Mülheim Stadthalle
• 
  View to the street and tram station Aktienstraße
• 
  Friedrichstraße
• 
  Petrikirche
• 
  Highrise buildings in the city centre
• 
  Water feature in MüGa-Park

• Mülheim Hauptbahnhof

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Mülheim an der Ruhr.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mülheim an der Ruhr.

• "Mülheim-an-der-Ruhr" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 18 (11th ed.). 1911. p. 960.
• Official city homepage